After several years of rapid increases in rental rates, North Texas prices are slightly down from where they were a year ago and still significantly behind dozens of other U.S. metro areas.
The median Dallas-Fort Worth asking rent was $1,502 in March, down 1% from March 2022, according to a new report from Realtor.com researchers. The report covers studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments, condos, townhomes and single-family homes listed on the platform.
Within Texas, Austin- and Houston-area renters faced higher asking rents in March. The median was $1,675 in Austin and $1,523 in Houston. The median rent in the San Antonio area was much lower at $1,326.
Nationally, March was the 14th month of slowing rent growth after a 25% increase over the last four years. Median rent across the 50 largest metros in the U.S. was $1,732, up 2.5% from a year before. Rents grew faster in smaller units, with studio prices up 4.7%.
Riverside, Calif., Phoenix, Las Vegas, Tampa, Fla. and Austin saw the largest year-over-year declines. While the pace of rent growth slows in Sun Belt cities, Indianapolis (10.3%), New York (10.2%), Cincinnati (9.6%) and Oklahoma City (9.2%) led the nation in gains.
“Mirroring trends that we’ve seen in the for-sale market, affordability is shaping housing demand, with lower-cost areas continuing to see stronger rent growth, home price increases, and competitive real estate markets,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist for Realtor.com. “Markets in the Midwest and Northeast are benefiting from this trend while cities in the West are adjusting in the opposite direction.
“The good news for renters is that overall rent prices and price growth have both cooled from their highs in early 2022, offering some relief for cost-burdened consumers who are facing higher prices across the board.”
The slowdown in rent appreciation followed skyrocketing costs for renters over the last few years. Rental rates in D-FW rose from $1,183 in rent at the end of 2020 to $1,534 at the end of 2022, according to separate data from Richardson-based real estate technology firm RealPage.
Rents were about flat through the first three months of this year with an average rate of $1,536, according to RealPage.
